Diggin' Deeper. AKA Alabama Shakes and Janis Joplin

A friend of mine recently got me turned onto the band, Alabama Shakes, a roots band based out of Athens, Alabama.  I loved their songs.  Loved the lead singer's (Brittany Howard) voice and guitar playing and, of course, HATE that Jon Pareles from the New York times mentioned Howard and Janis Joplin in the same sentence.  Ok, why do people see a female lead singer doing rock and immediately compare her to Janis Joplin?  Janis Joplin was terrible.  Brittany Howard can sing.

Another thing.  I love the fact that a band comes out and actually plays good roots music, doesn't have a style consultant and isn't using auto-tune features on their vocals.  I love the fact that the Alabama Shakes have a pretty good grasp of great American music that's come before them (and I know it's hard to believe, but music did happen before them).  They keep it simple.  About the groove and voice.  What makes me scratch my head sometimes is that folks hear bands like A-shakes and immediately freak out and wonder where the Shakes have been their whole life.  People see that the A-shakes come out wearing rock clothes and a female lead who plays guitar and think that they've discovered this new-found music and can't wait to tell everybody.  Believe me, I was just as excited to check YouTube as soon as I heard about them and when I did it was another breath of fresh air for me.  Almost as if I was in a sealed room where the last of the sweet music air that I had been breathing was almost gone and then someone cracked a window and the Alabama Shakes came in to keep me going a little longer.

This post is a suggestion to people to dig back a little and not let some of the earlier artists get swept off to the side for the latest and greatest.  Here's a little YouTube list for your enjoyment.  And you'll find that Brittany Howard and Alabama Shakes have a closer connection to these than to Janis Joplin:

Let's start with Memphis Minnie:

We'll jump ahead a little to Sister Rosetta Tharpe:

check out that Gibson SG she's playin'

Now we'll move on to The Duchess (Bo Diddley's 2nd guitar player):

Now to the soulful, Barbara Lynn:

Now, we're going to present day, before the Alabama Shakes, to the great Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and my favorite, Mavis Staples:

This is a modern film shot in 2007 on vintage equipment!

singing a song that Jeff Tweedy wrote for her.  Mavis has been doing this since the fifties w/ her family gospel group, The Staple Singers.  Check out my buddies backing her up: Rick Holmstrom (g), Jeff Turmes (b) and Stephen Hodges (d)

Managed to get this done w/o any Janis Joplin!  Thanks Alabama Shakes for keeping it going and letting a little more fresh air in the window.

He Stopped And Smiled: The Passing of John Cephas

John Cephas 1930-2009

I am very saddened to report the passing of country blues guitarist, John Cephas. John died of natural causes yesterday, March 4th, at his home in Woodford, VA at the age of 78. Here is an excerpt from the website he shared with his partner, harmonica player, Phil Wiggins:

“Bowling Green” John Cephas was born in Washington, D.C. in 1930 into a deeply religious family. He takes his nickname from Bowling Green, Virginia, where he was raised. His first taste of music was gospel, but blues soon became his calling. His grandfather taught him the folklore of eastern Virginia, where his ancestors had toiled as slaves, and Cephas learned about blues from a guitar-playing aunt. But it was his cousin, David Taleofero, who taught him much of what he plays—the alternating thumb-and-finger picking style that characterizes Piedmont blues.

After learning to play the alternating thumb and fingerpicking style that defines Piedmont blues, John began emulating the records he heard. By the age of nine, John was playing for weekend gatherings with family and friends. Music from the ragtime era and early Piedmont artists such as Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Tampa Red were all influences on Cephas.

As a young man, John joined the Capitol Harmonizers and toured on the gospel circuit. After a stint in the Army during the Korean War, he returned to the United States and went through a variety of jobs that included professional gospel singer, carpenter and Atlantic fisherman. By the 1960s, Cephas was starting to make a living from his music and, since forming a duo with Wiggins in 1977, John has performed all over the world, serving as an ambassador of this singular American art form.

Among his many endeavors, John serves on the Executive Committe of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, and has testified before congressional committees. He is also a founder of the Washington, D.C. Blues Society. “More than anything else,” says John, “I would like to see a revival of country blues by more young people… more people going to concerts, learning to play the music. That’s why I stay in the field of traditional music. I don’t want it to die.”

Cephas received the coveted National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989. These fellowships recognize those who preserve cultural legacies in music, dance and crafts.

I had the good fortune and pleasure to see and play with John Cephas on a few occasions. Last July Nathan James and I opened up for he and Phil Wiggins at a house concert in Gig Harbor, WA to support the Centrum Country Blues Workshop. One of the songs they played that afternoon (I can't remember it's name) is featured in the video below. It was both peaceful and melancholy, a beautiful tune that made the whole place silent and gave me chills.

Several years before, my partner and I were playing a corporate BBQ at the Taylor Guitar factory, at which John Cephas was an invited guest. He arrived as we were playing and started to walk right on by us to join the crowd and shake some hands. But just as he stepped a couple of feet past the bandstand he stopped, turned around and looked at as us both, a little surprised (I'd like to think) that two young guys here in San Diego county were playing piedmont-style country blues. Mr. Cephas nodded and smiled, pausing for a few seconds more to listen then continued on. That smile was one of the greatest compliments I could have ever received as a country-blues musician. The song we had been playing was by the great Blind Boy Fuller and later in the day John told us that it was one of his favorites.

At a time when our country is faced with economic and political uncertainty we need to remember what really makes us American--the history, passion, and SOUL of our traditional music. This is the thing that people turn to when they are confronted with adversity or heartbreak not governmental institutions. We overlook sometimes, the use of art and music as a tool to help keep us feeling human, flesh and bone, to help us avoid being made into hardened cogs to keep the "machine" running.

Country blues and gospel music are two of the major foundations of American music as we know it today and John Cephas had mastered both of those styles in his lifetime. He toured the world sharing our musical traditions and he worked tirelessly to make sure that our inheritance would be secure by passing those traditions on to countless others here at home.

John Cephas was a national treasure and he will be sorely missed, but I'm thankful his music will continue to live on.

--BH

Cephas and Wiggins: http://www.cephasandwiggins.net/
Nathan James & Ben Hernandez: www.nateandben.com
Blues At Centrum: http://www.centrum.org/blues/
Ben Hernandez: www.benhernandezmusic.com

Musical Beards

A few years ago I noticed a trend that seemed to be growing steadily in the indie-rock music business. No, it wasn't overproduced pop garbage and it wasn't boy bands or skinny jeans or trucker hats. It was beards. Beards everywhere. Everyone seemed to have one. It was almost as if you couldn't be taken seriously as a musician if you didn't have a Rock-Beard. For awhile, everyone was just unshaven with two or three days growth and that was the style, but something changed in each musician and suddenly, or actually slowly, thick beards began to emerge like Rumplestiltskin from his slumber.

That was about two and a half years ago and the trend hasn't gone away and two and half years is long time for a trend to stick around in the music business. The beards continue to flourish and seem to have become their own entities in marketing the musician on whose face they grow. At one point, I even had one, just to see what it was like. After it grew in it took me about 3 months to realize that it was too hot and uncomfortable to have on my face.

I compiled a short list of current bands and musicians who sport rock beards, or who rock sporty beards and other facial hair styles and have followed the list with another list of musicians who were bearding it long before them. You can mix and match them, if you like, to see which contemporary band goes with it's classic Rock counterpart. Have fun.

Because I just moved from San Diego, CA I'll start with my personal favorite, Dirty Sweet. I first encountered this band at the San Diego Music Awards and to be honest when I saw them I thought they were cast members for the remake of “Almost Famous”, but when I heard them I liked there tunes ok. They played Rock ‘n’ Roll. Not indie rock, not blues rock, but just good ‘ol rough-edged Rock. You’ll also notice in the picture of Dirty Sweet, a hair sub-trend, the “straight-long-hair-parted-down-the-middle” look:

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Next we’ll move onto a band called Band of Horses. I just listened to some of their songs on their website. Not bad, but what is important here is that Band of Horses refuses to be tied down to any trend band wagon. They’re seen in the photo below representing each stage of Rock facial hair. Clean shaven, a few days growth, and the full beard:

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Next is a band I discovered on a random Charlotte music website that I can’t remember, but I will remember the band. This band has done things right. They've got a catchy name, 2013 Wolves; their Myspace website features a pack of rabid wolves in the background, the "four wolves of the apocalypse", I assume, and they’ve got some cool beards. I just listened to their stuff. Pretty exciting:

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Ok, let's get away from the Rock category for a second and get into the Roots-Rock category. Roots-Rock is a place where, in my opinion you can find the most backwoods facial hair growth.

First up in this category is another Charlotte, North Carolina based band called the New Familiars, a band whose music mixes acoustic folk styles with a little electricity. I like their stuff and they also feature a strong variety of hair growths. In this group you’ll find: long beards with long hair, short beards with short hair and everything in between. Bravo:

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Next up we have, ME. This is a photo of me during a very long layover in New York on my way to play festivals in Italy. The beard was fun to grow, but it was July in Italy and close to 90 degrees and I came to hate it. I got stopped by Italian Police on my way back from the festival late one night. And the trooper kept glancing back and forth from me to my license as my driver was nervously explaining to him that I was a musician. Not a great time to have a Rock-Beard:

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Here’s a photo of a friend of mine, Ben Prestage, from Florida. We competed together at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. This guy is a serious musician. He plays a cigar box guitar plugged into two amps and sets up almost an entire drum set and plays it with his feet, one foot for the kick drum the other foot’s heel and toe playing high hat and a snare balanced up on it’s side, struck with a kick drum mallet. He’s the real deal and so is his beard:

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Below is Black Keys front man Dan Aurbach who has just released his new solo album. He started out playing in the Black Keys clean-shaven, but found that he couldn’t quite achieve the sound he wanted, so he opted for more facial hair. Aurbach keeps his hair cut short and also crosses trends with the stingy-brim fedora. Good move Dan!:

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I have to pay respects to the home state favorites and so, last but not least, comes The Avett Brothers. Their sound is raw, their shows are entertaining and their Roots Rock beards are great. The Avett brothers keep you on your toes. Seth and Scott feature the “long-straight-hair-parted-down-the-middle” look with shorter beards, but also sport the thick “Gentleman-Lumberjack" look. Excellent:

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Now comes the “Legends of Rock-Beards” match up:

First we’ll start with the late, great Sam Chatmon, who I’m sure most of you have never heard of. He was a member of one of the greatest string bands of all time, called the Mississippi Sheiks, whose songs were covered by numerous rock bands in the 60’s.

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Next is Canned Heat who probably covered a few of Sam Chatmon's tunes. They have huge "beardal" variety.

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Credence Clearwater Revival from California. Mop top, mustaches, long hair and of course Rock-Beard. Ahh, CCR.

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Next is The Band. Also a good mix of hair and facial hair styles.

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We can't forget Lynrd Skynrd. One of Southern Rock's finest and with a splendid hair variety:

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The great Allman Brothers Band. Another Southern Rock giant. Good Rock-Beards and nice display of the "long-straight-hair-parted-down-the-middle" look:

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And of course, no Rock-Beard list would be complete without the reigning Rock-Beard champs, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top:

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Red Clay and Gray Concrete

On Friday, February 6th the Charlotte Folk Society hosted a concert at the Great Aunt Stella Center featuring North Carolina’s own Watson, Hicks, Craver and Newberry (WHCN). WHCN has a long history of playing authentic American Roots music, blending bluegrass, stringband, and ragtime styles. Their songs represent a rich musical heritage that was born in the hills and valleys of the southeast.

With the massive brass pipes of the church organ directly behind them, stretching up to the ceiling, WHCN took to the stage and played old favorites as well as their own originals. Jim Watson, mandolin, Bill Hicks, fiddle and Mike Craver, keyboard, founding members of The Red Clay Ramblers were also joined by well known banjo picker Joe Newberry replacing another Rambler original, the late Tommy Thompson. Lighted stained glass windows fixed in the ceiling, stages left and right and throughout the balcony area gave the place a very warm presence, reminiscent of the Grand Old Opry’s Ryman auditorium.

The evening was filled with music and stories, both intimately expressed to the “family” of audience members. At times it was raw and raucous, break-downs that got everyone shouting, songs that kept Jim Watson’s hand flittering across his mandolin and which powdered Bill Hicks’ fiddle with white rosen from his frantic bow. Other selections featured tender folk ballads by Joe Newberry and humorous ragtime-style show tunes by pianist Mike Craver, such as, “How Does A Glass Eye Work?”. Afterwards, the band as well as musicians from the audience split up and formed groups throughout the building for informal jams.

photo taken at The Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, VA 2008 by Bren Overholt

The Great Aunt Stella Center is a beautiful venue indeed. Once a Presbyterian church, the Center is now an island in a sea of concrete and modern skyscrapers. I peered out the window and noticed a cold, gray parking garage that seemed to creep ever closer to this historic red, brick building. In a time when, from what I’ve heard, the city of Charlotte seems to push, full-steam-ahead to tear down these structures in it’s race to modernize, the Great Aunt Stella Center remains. It’s a port in the storm for music like WHCN's, a place where DJ’s and pop music have no foothold, an old refuge for old music; folk traditions that lie in the foundation of much of American music as we know it today and thank goodness for it.

As a younger player of old roots music myself, I’ve definitely noticed, at times, the lack of young people supporting it. I was surprised (and then again I wasn’t) that so few younger fans were in attendance. There are groups of musicians who during the day, will profess their love for old-time music, sitting in a coffee house or on their college campus spewing out names of legendary artists. There are bands that claim inspiration and influence from American music pioneers, but at night they’re nowhere to be found when authentic acts like WHCN are performing. And last Friday night’s concert was free!

At any rate, the show was nothing but entertaining, which a good show should be. I felt like I had been let in on a Charlotte secret by hearing Watson, Hicks, Craver and Newberry at the Great Aunt Stella Center. As a musician new to the Queen City I had the opportunity to make much needed contacts and break out harmonicas, jug and gutbucket bass to present my own “resume” to the other musicians. I’ll definitely continue to support the Charlotte Folk Society if these are the kinds of acts and shows that they produce. Be sure to check out this link for WHCN to see when they might be passing through your town and stay in the loop for other great shows presented by the folk society at www.folksociety.org.

Real Life Music

(Taken from a Nathan James & Ben Hernandez website post from December 2007)

By Ben Hernandez
Nathan and I notice a lot of things when we're out playing shows. Working in the kind of environments that we do, we see just about every facet of human psychology. There is anger, humor, sadness, happiness, tragedy, pathetic-ness, and just plain bizarre behavior. We have the ability to sort of step back, remove ourselves and observe and many times enjoy the situation. There was a drunk guy that got angry with me and started cursing at me while we were playing a show in Long Beach years ago because he had reached across the stage and started beating on my washtub bass while we were in the middle of a song. I told him not to do that, that he knew better than to behave like that and his response was, "F*** you!" There have been many times that we've had to stop playing in the middle of a set to protect our instruments from being crushed by groups of "dudes" clearing the room to start fighting.

Once, while we were on a break, a woman wanted us to play "Born On The Bayou", I guess because all the unique ragtime, country blues, gospel, and jug band music that we were playing and that she probably never hears wasn't good enough. Nathan informed her, very cordially, that we didn't know that song and we don't play those kind of covers. Well, the woman insisted that we did know that song and we should play it for her. "It's a great song by a great rock band," Nathan replied. "But we just don't know it." That wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "C'mon," she pleaded, "you know it, it goes like this: dum, dum, dum, dum, dee, dee..." At that point her eyes closed slightly as if she had been transported back to some Creedence show in her mind. Her hands and arms awkwardly fell into "air guitar" position and she started rockin'. Now during this time, as Nathan continued to inform her, still as politely as he could and almost talking to her like a child, that we didn't play that song; her husband kept pulling on her arm trying to get her to stop and return to their table. Finally she blurted again, "No, c'mon, it's a really easy song. I know you know it." Nathan glanced over at me then back at the woman (she was still going on and on). He held up his finger and said, "Shhhhh, ma'am, stop....I can't talk to you anymore," and walked past her. Luckily, I was still standing there to see the reaction on her face--as if no one had ever done that before during one of her drunken rants.

Last night we were playing in Orange County, and although this incident didn't happen inside the venue we were playing it was strange enough to put into this story.

I had just pulled up across the street from the club, in front of the post office. I was listening to an album that Troy Sandow (bassist and harmonica player) had loaned me: Aretha Franklin live at the Fillmore. In the space next to me, a guy ,who looked like he was in his early forties, was blaring some teenage pop-punk or something, out of his windows and into my soul filled car. It was like nails on a chalk board. It was one of those bands that would be featured on the T.V. show "The O.C." or some MTV "reality" show. A band whose lead singer's name is Tyler or Casey or Cody or Brett.

Anyway, I stepped out of my car, grabbed an armload of equipment and headed into the club. Nathan was there setting up and I remarked to him what a rude awakening it had been pulling up listening to the Queen and First Lady of Soul only to have her drowned out by the stuff that that guy was listening to.

We chuckled about it as we walked back outside to get more gear from our cars. Then, as I approaced my car, I noticed the man who was listening to the "Aretha hating" music was standing there between the two automobiles waiting for me. He was huge! At least 6' 4" built like an oak tree, with thinning, dyed blond hair and wearing these clear- lensed, sport glasses--you know, the kind that cyclists wear.

He stepped in front of me, I could hear "Cody's" whiney vocals come out of the guy's stereo. He said, "Do you think you could sing a song with words like that?" I chuckled uncomfortably, not knowing what the heck "Tyler" was singing about. All the while I was thinking that maybe he heard me trashin' his music and I pissed him off. "Yeah, that's right," he continued. "Their singing about this fake war in Iraq."

"Oh yeah?" I said, trying to play it cool. Still thinking he had heard me bad-mounthing his tunes.

"Yeah, they've got the balls to sing about it. About how we're stealin' oil from some another country and givin' it to China. They're with the people not the pussys. You're either with the people or the pussys. Do you have the balls to sing about that stuff like they do?" he said intensely, pointing his finger at me.

"Well," I replied, looking up at him. "I just do the best I can."

And with that he turned and grunted, not too satisfied with me, I guess; dropped his mail into the post office night box and jumped into his GIGANTIC, FULL-SIZE, GAS-GUZZLING TRUCK, and drove away.